The Kwid has been quite a success story for Renault. SUVs have become rage of the automotive scenario, but growing congestion gave rise to crossovers like the Kwid that provide SUV styling in a hatchback, and also of course reasonable pricing.
More and more of carmakers are coming up with small car designs that have SUV like styling, and Maruti Suzuki and Renault are about to get into a head-on competition with the introduction of the new car.
Kwid has taken over a large chunk of sales in the entry-level car market, evidence of which lies in the sales figures. In 2016, an average of 8,812 units of Kwid were sold per month.
Maruti Suzuki which continues to be the market leader in the entry-level segment witnessed a serios drop in sales of the Alto post introduction of the Kwid. Sales for the Alto declined from 20,658 units in September 2015 to 17,351 units in December 2016.
Maruti Suzuki is understandably not pleased and has been working on an all-new hatchback to rival the Kwid, which is expected to arrive in showrooms sometime in 2018, according to a report on Autocar India.
The new car is likely to be an all-new model, and not a replacement for the Alto.
There is not much information available, however it could have a higher ground clearance and SUV styling. It may carry the usual Maruti Suzuki engines – the 800cc and 1.0-litre petrol.
Maruti Suzuki is expected to unveil the new car at the Auto Expo 2018 sometime in the first half of the year.
